


The Baby Plan

by cloudyunicorn698



Category: Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Family, I have no idea how long this will be, Love, Pregnancy envy, Protective Maura, Rizzles, Sorry Not Sorry, This story may be a form of self-therapy, Unplanned Pregnancy, caring Maura
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-22 20:20:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30044175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudyunicorn698/pseuds/cloudyunicorn698
Summary: Jane’s world is upended when she realizes that she’s pregnant with Casey’s baby after she turned down his marriage proposal. Maura can’t help the jealousy she feels deep inside, but she is determined to support Jane unconditionally. Can Jane and Maura work through their own pain and find the love and family they both want?Diverges from canon after season 4. Frost isn’t going to die, but Nina will still come to BPD. No miscarriage. Eventual Rizzles.
Relationships: Maura Isles & Jane Rizzoli, Maura Isles/Jane Rizzoli, Nina Holiday/Frankie Rizzoli Jr.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 52





	1. Positive

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning: Pregnancy envy. 
> 
> Honestly, I’m writing this story as a form of therapy to work through my own feelings of pregnancy envy/jealousy, so please be kind. I had no intention of starting a new story right now, but I’m hoping it helps. I make zero promises on how often I will update this story. The only promise I can make is that I will finish this and any story I start – it just may not be as fast as I (or you) would like.

Maura noticed Frankie just outside the door to Jane’s apartment. She smiled at him and said, “Don't play with your sutures.” She had thought he had seen her approach, but her presence seemed to surprise him.

“Where did you come from?” Frankie asked.

“How's your lip?” she continued, recognizing that his question was rhetorical.

“It’s fine. You want to see how fine?” Frankie asked before leaning in and giving Maura a kiss on the lips.

“Wow,” Maura said. She was shocked by the action and a little surprised at the lack of an emotional or physical response she had to the kiss.

“I'm sorry. I just wanted to see what that felt like. I'm gonna go before we have an awkward conversation,” Frankie said. Maura knew it was already awkward, but she didn’t really want to deal with it right now, so she offered him a polite goodbye and watched him leave.

Maura let herself into Jane’s apartment and was surprised to see Jane putting a ring box into a yellow shipping envelope. “Jane, what are you doing?” she asked as she placed her purse on the stool in front of the breakfast bar and stood next to her friend.

“Read it,” was all Jane said as she stepped away from the computer. Jane stepped into the other room while Maura read the email out loud.

Maura looked down at the computer screen where Jane had pulled up an email from Casey:

_Hi baby,_  
_I wasn’t expecting this to be so hard.  
_ _I don’t know who I am if I'm not a soldier. They want me to command a battalion in the Balkans. There’s room for my wife. Please come, Jane. Please._

Maura immediately flashed back to a moment in the lab a few weeks ago:

_“Can I mention that diamond you’re wearing, or do I ignore it,” Maura asked._

_“You don’t watch many romantic comedies, do you?” Jane quipped._

_Maura shook her head. “I do not,” she confirmed._

_“Well, I’m supposed to get all giggly and girly and you’re supposed to squeal,” Jane explained as she held out her left hand in front of Maura._

_“Why would I squeal over a colorless crystalline form of pure carbon?” Maura asked as she looked down at Jane’s hand in front of her, the diamond engagement ring in full view._

_“You have to admit it’s pretty,” Jane said, looking down at the ring on her finger, and Maura could see genuine happiness in her face. “I just wanted to wear it for a couple of minutes. I don’t want to think about what it means. I just…talk to me about the paint.”_

_Maura tried to gather herself, stuffing down the pain and sadness rising inside her, as she walked around the lab table to put on gloves. They talked about the case for a few minutes, but Maura couldn’t ignore the elephant in the room. “So? You’re leaving,” she asked sadly._

_“What? No, no,” Jane said quickly. “I didn’t say yes,” she added, somewhat lamely._

_“Can you see yourself as a general’s wife?” Maura asked._

_Jane sighed. “What if I leave behind my life here, and we don’t work out as a couple? Or he leaves his? One of us has to ruin a career for us to be together. It’s…it’s just not fair.”_

_“If life were fair all seven billion of us would have had one shoe and a piece of cardboard to call home,” Maura said. If life were fair, her best friend would return her feelings and they wouldn’t be having this conversation._

_“How’re you gonna survive with one shoe?” Jane asked, momentarily distracted._

_“How will I survive without my best friend?” Maura asked thickly as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes._

_“Maura,” Jane said sadly. When Maura pulled her gloves off and stepped to the side, intending to flee the conversation, Jane asked, “Wait, what’re you doing?”_

_"I have a foreign body on my cornea,” Maura lied._

_“Wait, Maura,” Jane called after her._

_“No, I’m fine,” Maura lied again as she walked out of the lab and into her office, but she failed to close the door behind her and was surprised when a very upset Frost was waiting for her in her office. He blamed her for his girlfriend taking a job in China, throwing her words back at her. If she were being honest with herself, she would have to admit that the words she said to Nada about putting her career ahead of her boyfriend had really been meant for Jane._

_After Frost left her office, she shut the door. Luckily, Frost had been too angry with her to notice the hives that were creeping up her chest and neck as a result of her lies to Jane. She quickly found the Benadryl she kept for times like this, swallowing the pills dry before sitting down at her desk chair, and letting the tears fall._

In all honesty, Maura hadn’t felt much better when Casey agreed to retire from the army and planned to move to Boston permanently to marry Jane. She felt like she was still losing her best friend, as selfish as that might be.

“I'm not going,” Jane said instantly when Maura looked up from the computer, and Maura could hear the pain and sadness in her voice. “I'm not gonna marry him.”

“I’m so sorry,” Maura said genuinely. And she really meant it, no matter how much she hadn’t wanted Jane to marry Casey. She had still wanted her best friend to be happy, even if it meant that she, Maura, was miserable.

“Yeah, me, too,” Jane said. “I'm not gonna leave everything to follow him around the world.” She looked down at the stick in her hand, rubbing her thumbs back and forth across it as she tried to figure out how to tell Maura the next part.

“What’s in your hand?” Maura asked, noticing Jane’s hesitation and the pregnancy test in her hand.

“I think I'm pregnant,” Jane said, and her eyes instantly began to water.

A million different emotions swirled inside of Maura, but she tamped them down in order to support her best friend. She ended up spending a few hours comforting and distracting Jane before going home. She tried to subtly gather information from Jane, but other than the fact that she planned to keep the baby, Maura wasn’t able to find out much more.

It wasn’t until she was safely tucked in her own bed later that night that she finally let herself feel everything she had been holding in for the past few hours. If asked, she probably wouldn’t have been able to describe what she was feeling. More than anything, she was happy for Jane because ultimately Jane wanted this baby, and she knew that she would love this baby more than anything. She also knew that she would be there for Jane every step of the way, in whatever way Jane wanted her to be.

Still, she couldn’t help the searing pain that cut through her heart. She had always known she wanted kids, and that desire had only grown stronger over the past few years. The reality was that Maura was jealous and that made her feel guilty. When she finally admitted this jealousy to herself, the tears quickly followed. She let the emotions wash over her as she laid in the dark, gasping as she tried to catch her breath through her sobs. She hated herself for feeling this way when she should be focusing on Jane, but the guilt didn’t stop the deep want she felt for a child.

Eventually, she realized that she wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon, so she got out of bed to find her laptop. She climbed back in bed and propped the laptop on a pillow on her lap. She pulled up her web browser and searched, **_Is it normal to feel jealous of my best friend’s pregnancy?_**

Millions of results instantly popped up, and somehow that made her feel better. She definitely wasn’t the first person to feel this way – not that she thought she was – but ‘pregnancy envy,’ as it appeared to be called, was a lot more common than she expected.

She ended up spending hours online researching pregnancy envy, focusing on recommendations for dealing with the feelings. The first thing that came up on every list was to recognize and respect your own feelings as valid. It was okay to feel this way. She needed to forgive herself and get past the guilt, which was easier said than done, but she would try.

Other recommendations were to unfollow pregnant friends on social media, skipping the baby shower, or asking your friends not to talk about their pregnancy all the time, but in this case that wasn’t really possible. She wasn’t willing to cut Jane out of her life or even to see her less. She wasn’t willing to avoid Jane’s pregnancy.

Another recommendation was to talk to someone about your feelings, but she wasn’t sure how to do this. Jane is normally the only person Maura would be able to talk to about something like this, but she definitely couldn’t confide in Jane this time. She noted the suggestion in the back of her mind, intending to think about it at another time.

She had to admit that her research had helped, even if it hadn’t completely reversed her jealousy. She was willing to take it one step at a time, for now, though, as long as her feelings didn’t interfere with her friendship with Jane. She’d been able to hide her romantic feelings for Jane from the world, so what was one more secret?


	2. Blueberry (7 weeks)

It had been a little over a week since Jane had told Maura that she was pregnant with Casey’s baby. Maura had spent most of her free time researching pregnancy and how to support someone throughout their pregnancy. She’d also continued her research into her own feelings about Jane, the pregnancy, and the baby. She hadn’t come up with any brilliant solutions yet, but she was determined to work through them so that she could be there for her friend and the baby.

On the Monday morning of Christmas week, Jane was standing in Maura’s kitchen describing a dream she had had the night before where she saw herself standing with her future baby in the nursery.

“The physical changes that your body is going through can enhance any underlying emotional instability,” Maura explained.

“So, you’re saying that I’m nervous about having the baby?” Jane asked.

“I would be,” Maura said. “Look, you’re pregnant. You know, your body is producing a cocktail of hormones. Right now, human chorionic gonadotropin is facilitating the production of estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen causes breast enlargement. It’s also responsible for a lack of interest in sex during pregnancy.”

“So bigger boobs and no sex? That’s a guy’s worst nightmare,” Jane quipped as she sat down at the kitchen table with a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

Maura joined Jane at the table. “Oh,” she said as she realized that Jane had a cup of fresh coffee in her hands. She reached out to stop Jane from drinking the coffee. “Mnh-mnh-mnh,” she said, shaking her head and attempting to take the mug from Jane.

Jane glared at her without releasing her vice-like grip on the coffee mug. “I will kill you,” she said seriously.

“Caffeine bad,” Maura stated, unwilling to give in.

“Death worse,” Jane deadpanned, but when Maura still didn’t release her grip on the mug, her voice turned to a whine, “Maura! Let go.”

Maura still refused to let go of the coffee mug, her face displaying to Jane how serious she was about this. She was determined to make sure that Jane took care of herself and this baby, no matter how difficult Jane made that task. Finally, Jane sighed in resignation and released the cup.

Maura sighed as she brought the coffee mug towards her. “When are you gonna tell Casey?” she asked.

“Not today,” Jane said, the defeat evident in her voice. “I don’t even know how I feel about it yet. I mean, I know I’m going to keep it. I just don’t know how I feel about everything else.”

“Well, take your time. It’s a very big discussion,” Maura said as she took a sip of the coffee she had taken from Jane. “Mmm! This is good. Did you use the sulawesi?” she said earnestly, momentarily distracted from the topic at hand.

“I hate you,” Jane deadpanned, but she dropped the issue as her mother let herself into Maura’s house and greeted them ‘good morning.’

Maura watched Jane’s eyes grow big as though she’d had some big revelation while she watched her mother pour herself a cup of coffee, but when Maura started to ask what she was thinking, Jane quickly shushed her.

It wasn’t until they were in the car on their way to a crime scene that Maura brought up Jane’s reaction to her mother again. “What were you thinking about when your mother came over this morning?” she asked. “You seemed to have some sort of realization – or at least your facial expression indicated…”

Jane cut her off. “In the dream I was telling you about, I was my mother,” Jane said as though this was the worst thing she could think of.

“What do you mean?” Maura asked.

“I was wearing my mother’s pajamas and robe, and I even had my hair pulled back like hers, and…and…” Jane stuttered.

“Would that be so bad…” Maura asked, “becoming a little like your mother?”

Jane scoffed. “I mean, nuclear war is worse,” she said sarcastically, “but it’s close.” Jane paused, raising her voice. “It’s terrifying, Maura!” she exclaimed.

“Fear is an essential part of our survival,” Maura explained calmly. “It keeps us alert.”

“Oh, great,” Jane quipped. “So, no caffeine in the morning. Just a big old cup of fear.”

Maura chuckled. “I happen to think that your mom was a very great mother,” she said.

“Well, that’s because you weren’t around when she was doing the mom-ing,” Jane countered.

“Yeah, but I see the result,” Maura said. “And I think that you’re gonna take all the best of what she did and do it even better.”

“I’ll try,” Jane said with a smile.

The rest of the morning proceeded as usual. Maura hadn’t seen Jane since they had returned to the crime scene, so she decided to bring the autopsy report up to the bullpen in a not-so-subtle attempt to also check on Jane.

“Where’s Jane?” Maura asked as she walked into the bullpen.

"Interrogation room with a suspect,” Frankie answered.

“Okay, uh, can you tell her to come down to autopsy when she’s done?”

“Absolutely,” Frankie confirmed.

Maura was going to just ignore the awkwardness of the moment, but when she thought back to how uncomfortable things had been since their kiss last week, Maura realized that she couldn’t continue avoiding the subject. Maura paused before leaving the bullpen and turned back to Frankie. “We need to talk about our kiss,” she said nervously.

“Yes, we do,” Frankie said, and Maura could hear the resignation in his voice.

“It can never happen again,” Maura said as kindly but firmly as she could.

Frankie sighed. “And it won’t,” he said.

“I’m sorry, but…” Maura started, but Frankie cut her off.

“…you’re like a sister to me.

Maura let out the breath she didn’t realize she was holding as relief flooded her system. She didn’t want to hurt Frankie and she didn’t want to lose him as a friend. “I am so happy that you feel that way,” she said. “Because you are like a brother to me... with really soft lips,” she added awkwardly.

“Well, not as soft as yours,” Frankie teased.

“I use a moisturizing lip balm,” Maura explained.

“Isn’t that cheating?” Frankie joked.

“The point is…” Maura started.

“I know,” Frankie assured her. “Me too. I’ll tell Jane you were looking for her.”

“Yeah,” Maura said. “Thanks.”

“Alright,” Frankie said as he watched her leave.

Maura was sitting in her office working on a report on her laptop when Angela walked in near the end of the day. “Angela,” she greeted cheerfully, standing to greet Angela. “What a lovely surprise. Hello.”

“No, no,” Angela said seriously.

“What? Is something…something wrong?” Maura asked, surprised at Angela’s demeanor. Angela smiled and took Maura’s hands in her own, guiding her to sit on the couch. “Why are you…” Maura started; the other woman’s behavior was making her nervous. “I-I must say” she admitted, “this is striking me as slightly odd.”

“Et non dico mendacium quaestiones,” Angela said as she rubbed her thumbs across Maura’s upturned palms.

“That’s Latin,” Maura stated. “Ask me no questions. I’ll tell you no lies,” she translated.

Angela laughed. “I wasn’t sure what that meant. My grandmother, Maria Maddalena Mazzone, used to say it before she read people’s minds,” Angela explained.

“Oh, she was a psychic?” Maura asked interestedly.

“No, she made dresses,” Angela stated simply, and Maura’s face scrunched in confusion. “But she could tell if you were lying by running her fingers across the palm lines.”

"The palmar flexion creases,” Maura stated.

“Yours are a little sweaty” Angela commented, and Maura instantly grew nervous, breaking eye-contact with Angela.

“Okay, don’t worry. I won’t ask you any questions, so you don’t have to tell me any lies. I know how hard that is for you.” Angela paused until Maura made eye contact with her again. “Jane has a secret.” When Maura took a deep breath, Angela knew she had her trapped and pulled Maura closer to her by her hands. “Maura, she’s glowing. She’s not drinking any coffee, and we know that her blood is 63% caffeine.” Angela paused taking a deep breath. “Your palmar flexion creases are talking to me.”

“Well, they can’t actually be talking,” Maura deflected nervously.

Angela laughed loudly. “I knew it! I knew it! Jane’s pregnant!” she said excitedly, jumping up and down.

Maura panicked. “Wait!” she said fearfully. “I didn’t even say anything!”

Angela squealed. “Yes, you did,” she teased, “loud and clear.”

“No, no, no,” Maura said as panic flooded her system. “Ange... Angela, please. She will kill me. You cannot tell Jane that you heard this from me. You have to let her tell you herself.”

“Of course,” Angela said happily.

“You will?” Maura asked nervously. “Y-y-you will wait?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Angela said nonchalantly. “I can keep a secret.” Angela laughed happily again. On her way out of the office, she turned back around and gave Maura a gigantic hug, which Maura failed to return in her shock. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” she exclaimed.

Maura ended up being surprised by Angela. She had honestly expected Angela to say something to Jane that evening, but Jane still didn’t know her mother knew when they went to the OB-GYN two days later.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Maura and Jane were sitting in an exam room at the new OB-GYN that Jane had found online. Despite the fact that Maura wasn’t thrilled at the limited about of research Jane had done when picking a doctor, she was glad that Jane had listened to her suggestion to make an appointment as soon as possible. She had been slightly surprised when Jane had asked her to come with her to the appointment. In all honesty, she had somewhat mixed feelings about being here. Of course, she wanted to support Jane, but she was still struggling with her feelings of pregnancy envy. She wasn’t sure if being here was going to be helpful or detrimental to her attempts to move past these feelings.

Still, she couldn’t say no when Jane had asked, so Maura was now holding a clipboard, filling out Jane’s medical history. “Chicken pox?” she asked, reading off the next item on the list.

“No,” Jane answered.

“Chlamydia?”

“Really?” Jane asked, throwing Maura a look of annoyance.

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’” Maura said simply. “Deep vein thrombosis?”

“No.”

“How about depression?” Maura asked.

“Only since you started asking me all these questions,” Jane quipped.

“Let me remind you that if you’d gone to your regular OB, we wouldn’t have to fill out new-patient forms,” Maura said simply.

“Well, let me remind you my regular OB is two blocks from the house I grew up in,” Jane said somewhat childishly. “The staff knows people in my neighborhood, and people talk. I don’t want Casey’s mom finding out about this pregnancy before I have a chance to tell him.”

“Are you having second thoughts about not marrying Casey?” Maura couldn’t help but ask, as she placed the clipboard down to give Jane her full attention.

“No,” Jane said with a sigh. “I mean, I love Casey, and I know that he loves me. But we decided that marriage isn’t right for us now.”

“Are you worried he won’t understand?” Maura asked curiously.

“Yeah,” Jane said. “I don’t want to hurt him.”

“You just need to talk to him and speak from the heart,” Maura tried to reassure her.

“Yeah,” Jane said resignedly. “Well, until I get it figured out, the only person that I trust knowing about this pregnancy is you. You and this complete stranger who will now be my OB-GYN.”

“Uh, I…” Maura started, fear and discomfort lacing her words.

“Otherwise, I just…I just want to keep it a secret,” Jane said, failing to notice Maura’s anxiety.

There was a knock on the door, and Maura looked nervously between the door and Jane. When the doctor opened the door and stuck her head in, Maura quickly jumped up and started to leave the room. “Um…your mom knows you’re pregnant. I’ll wait in the car.”

“Maura, wait,” Jane called after her, and the fear and uncertainty in Jane’s voice caused Maura to stop in her tracks. She squeezed her eyes shut as she attempted to tamp down her instincts to run before she turned around to face Jane again.

“Please stay?” Jane asked, and Maura could here the vulnerability in the request.

Maura simply nodded and returned to stand next to Jane. She took Jane’s hand in hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze as they both turned their attention to the doctor.

The doctor walked Jane through the usual tests and questions. Maura listened intently to everything the doctor said and took every piece of literature the doctor offered to Jane. She intended to read everything in detail once they got home.

After the doctor had finished the usual tests, Maura glanced briefly at Jane and asked the doctor, “What other tests or health and genetic screenings do you offer?”

“We offer various genetic screenings including chorionic villus sampling and prenatal cell-free DNA screening around end of the first trimester, as well as the Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) blood test and amniocentesis during the second trimester. These tests are optional but given that this is considered a geriatric pregnancy…” the doctor explained.

“Geriatric?” Jane cut her off, offended.

Maura laughed under her breath. Turning to Jane she said, “All pregnancies in women 35 or older are considered geriatric pregnancies.”

Jane made a face but didn’t argue.

The doctor laughed slightly. “That’s not an uncommon reaction,” she offered. “As I was saying, I would recommend the prenatal cell-free DNA screening and the AFP blood test at a minimum. The results of those tests can give us an idea of whether the chorionic villus sampling test and/or amniocentesis are recommended.”

Maura nodded. She definitely wanted Jane to have the blood tests since the risks were minimal, but she intended to do additional research on the more invasive tests. She knew it technically wasn’t her decision, but she could at least provide Jane with all the necessary information to make an educated decision. “Thank you,” Maura told the doctor with a smile.

“We can plan to do the DNA screening at your next appointment, which I recommend you schedule around your tenth week,” the doctor suggested.

“Okay, thanks,” Jane said.

“The last thing we have today is the ultrasound,” the doctor said. Maura tried not to let her anxiety show. This was the part she was most unsure about. Part of her wanted to see Jane’s baby, but part of her also feared that she wouldn’t be able to hide her own pain. The conflicting emotions that were always so close to the surface these days were once again threatening to explore from inside her.

“Since you are relatively early in your pregnancy, I’m going to do a vaginal ultrasound,” the doctor continued. Jane scrunched her nose in slight displeasure but still nodded in consent. Maura had known that the ultrasound today was most likely to be a vaginal ultrasound, but she wondered if Jane had known that. “I’ll let you get situated in the stirrups while I get the machine,” the doctor added before stepping out of the room.

Maura turned to Jane once the doctor had left. “I can step outside,” she offered, unsure of whether Jane would want her there for something so intimate anyway.

“I-I, uh…will you stay?” Jane asked. “I know it’s weird,” she added, waving her hand vaguely in the direction of her ‘area,’ as Jane called it. “But I don’t know if I can do this part alone right now.”

Maura’s heart broke at the desperation in Jane’s voice. She nodded. “Of course, I’ll stay,” she said, grabbing Jane’s hand again and giving it a squeeze.

“Thank you,” Jane said, and Maura could see the tears threatening to fall. Maura smiled at Jane as her own tears burned at the corners of her eyes.

Jane broke eye contact with Maura, who stepped away from the bed slightly to allow Jane to get situated in the stirrups. She had just returned to her previous position, holding Jane’s hand, when the doctor returned with the ultrasound machine.

It took the doctor a few minutes to get started and to properly place the wand. The moment the wand was in place, Maura instantly saw the gestational sac, the yolk sac, and the fetal pole, but it was when she heard the baby’s heartbeat that the tears she had been holding back finally broke through. When she felt Jane squeeze her hand, she turned to look at Jane, who met her gaze with her own watery stare. Maura smiled through her tears, a smile which Jane quickly returned. “That’s your baby,” she whispered to Jane.

Jane was too choked up to respond, so she just nodded. Maura couldn’t help herself and she leaned forward to place a soft kiss on Jane’s forehead. They both returned their attention to the screen and watched while the doctor took some measurements. The doctor also took a number of screenshots, printing out a few copies of the ultrasound images.

“Everything looks healthy, and your pregnancy appears to be progressing nicely,” the doctor told Jane with a smile as she removed the wand. “Do you have any questions?”

They finished the appointment, but before the doctor left, she glanced through the paperwork Maura had completed for Jane at the beginning of the appointment. “There’s one more page that needs to be completed,” the doctor said as she removed the completed pages from the clipboard and added them to Jane’s chart to be scanned into the computer. “I’ll leave this with you, and you can give it to the receptionist when you check out and schedule your next appointment.”

The doctor said goodbye, told Jane to call if she had any questions, and left Jane and Maura alone in the room so that Jane could get redressed.

Jane handed Maura the clipboard without looking at it. “Can you…while I get dressed?” she asked without waiting for a response.

Maura took the form and looked at it. “It’s a release of protected health information and emergency contact form,” Maura said. “You can add anyone you want the doctor to be able to talk to about your health throughout the pregnancy. This also applies to who can be updated throughout the birthing process, but you don’t have to decide that right now. You can always change the permissions later.”

“Okay,” Jane said slowly as she pulled on her jeans. “So, am I like supposed to add Casey or something?”

“It’s up to you. You’re not required to add anyone. Although, at a minimum, you should add an emergency contact. It doesn’t have to be the father. It should be the person or people that you are most comfortable with – the people that you would want contacted if something happened.”

“Well, you,” Jane said as though this was obvious.

“Oh, okay,” Maura said surprised.

“Only if you’re okay with that, of course,” Jane said quickly.

“Yes, Jane, of course I am,” Maura assured her. “In fact, I’m honored.”

“Okay, so write your information down,” Jane said, waving her hand in the general direction of the clipboard.

Maura filled out her information, then said, “There are three options: release of medical records only, contact in case of emergency only, or release of medical records and contact in case of emergency.”

“Well, both for you,” Jane said. “Can you add a second person with different options?”

“Yes,” Maura confirmed.

“Okay, then add ma for ‘contact in case of emergency only,’” Jane said. “And I can decide about Casey later?”

“Yes,” Maura said as she completed the form and handed it to Jane to sign.

After checking out and scheduling Jane’s next appointment, they drove back to Maura’s house in relative silence, each of them lost in her own thoughts. Maura tried to process everything she had felt throughout Jane’s appointment. One thing was for sure, she felt unconditional love at a magnitude she never knew possible for the baby Jane was carrying. Seeing the embryo and hearing the heartbeat had deepened this love even when she didn’t think it was possible.

She had also felt pangs of jealousy at different moments throughout the appointment, and her feelings were confusing. Part of the jealousy was simply that she wanted to be pregnant and have a baby, but another part of the jealousy was that she wanted _this_ baby to be hers, not Casey’s. She wanted to have and raise this baby with Jane.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Jane commented after a while, watching Maura as Maura drove them both home.

Maura glanced at Jane briefly, flashing her a smile. “I was just thinking about your baby,” she said honestly.

“Yeah, me too,” Jane said as she turned to glance out the window. “It feels a lot more real now. I mean, I always knew it was real, but hearing its heartbeat…I don’t know.”

“I think that’s really common,” Maura said. “Seeing and hearing the baby is a very different experience than seeing a positive on a pregnancy test or feeling nauseous.”

Jane laughed. “In all honesty, I had no idea what I was looking at, so I’m not sure if that counts as seeing the baby,” she commented.

“Really?” Maura asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, is that pathetic?”

“No, the baby is still very small. The embryo is the size of a blueberry right now.”

“I still feel bad that I couldn’t see anything,” Jane admitted.

“I’ll point out the things I could see on the ultrasound images when we get home, if you’d like,” Maura offered.

“I’d like that,” Jane said gratefully as Maura parked the car in her garage.

“So, ma knows?” Jane asked as they got out of the car. She needed to know what she was about to walk into.

“I didn’t actually tell your mother,” Maura tried to defend herself to Jane as they walked up to Maura’s front door. “She somehow knew, and then I confirmed it. I don’t really even know how it happened. I am so sorry.” Maura’s voice became more high-pitched as she rambled on.

“She used the Latin thing on you?” Jane asked, laughter evident in her voice. “Et non dico mendacium quaestiones?”

“Yeah, that’s it,” Maura said resignedly.

“And then did she tell you about her psychic grandmother and take your hand and say that she could tell if you were lying just by running her fingers across your palm?”

“But it felt so real and honest,” Maura said, somewhat desperately.

“Her grandmother died when she was 5,” Jane told Maura with a smirk.

“I’m such an idiot!” Maura exclaimed loudly.

Jane laughed. “No, no,” she assured Maura. “You just fell for her well-oiled routine. I mean, Frankie couldn’t get away with anything as a kid because she was always weaseling a confession out of him.”

“Sounds like a cop I know,” Maura teased. “Maybe the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.”

“Was that a veiled reference to my potential parenting style?” Jane asked as she opened the door, letting Maura walk in first.

“I wouldn’t call it ‘veiled,” Maura replied matter-of-factly.

“Alright, well, let me handle this,” Jane said quietly so that only Maura could hear as they walked towards the kitchen, where Jane could hear her mom preparing Christmas Eve dinner. “I don’t want her to make it about you.”

“Don’t let her use the Latin on you,” Maura whispered quickly.

“What?” Angela asked, turning from the stove towards Maura and Jane who had just entered the kitchen.

“Is there something you want to ask me about?” Jane said smugly.

“Why?” Angela deflected. “No, no. Is there something you want to tell me? What is it you think I know?”

“You tell me,” Jane stated simply.

“I don’t know.”

“Ma, I know you know,” Jane said exasperatedly. “I spoke to Maura.”

“Ohhh!” Angela said excitedly. “Thank you for finally telling me! I’m so happy for you, Jane. I am so proud of you!”

“Thank you,” Jane said as she accepted the hug from her mother.

“So, what about you and Casey?” Angela asked, making Maura cringe internally.

“We’ve already made a decision about our relationship, okay?” Jane said simply.

“Jane, you have to have…” Angela started.

“Ma, this baby is my responsibility, okay?” Jane said with a sense of finality. “Don’t push the Casey thing.”

“Okay, fine.”

“And don’t tell anybody,” Jane said firmly.

“Me?” Angela asked innocently.

“I’m serious, Ma, okay?” Jane said emphatically. “If the department finds out that I’m pregnant, I could be reassigned to desk duty.”

“Okay, what’s so bad about a desk job?” Angela asked.

“I like being a cop.”

“You’re about to be a mother, too.” Angela countered.

“Today, I’m still just a cop,” Jane stated, effectively ending the conversation.

The rest of the day went smoothly with Jane’s brothers and baby TJ joining them for Christmas Eve dinner. Surprisingly, Angela was able to keep her mouth shut about Jane’s pregnancy. After everyone else had left, Maura and Jane spent some time looking at the ultrasound pictures, and Maura kept her promise to point out the various features to Jane, who was slightly disappointed at the lack of ‘things to see,’ in her own words.

Maura was able to convince Jane to spend the night since everyone would be back at Maura’s for Christmas Day the next day, so now Maura was silently watching her best friend sleep. She felt so much love for the woman sleeping soundly next to her and for the tiny being growing inside her, but she also felt a deep-seated fear of what was still to come. She was about to watch the love of her life have a baby with the love of _her_ life. She feared losing Jane to Casey; she feared the pain of watching Jane raise a family without her; and she feared that her jealousy would interfere with her relationship with Jane and/or the baby.

“Merry Christmas, Jane. Merry Christmas, little one,” she whispered to Jane and the baby, leaning forward to give Jane a soft kiss on her forehead before turning over and trying to find sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to write Casey out of the story eventually, but I'm not sure how (or when). Do you guys have any preferences or ideas? The only thing I know for sure is that there won't be any instances of Jane taking him back or them "trying to make it work."


	3. Raspberry (8 weeks)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I usually write stories from both Maura and Jane’s perspectives, but I’m currently planning to only write from Maura’s perspective for this story. I reserve the right to change my mind though. 😊

Maura stood in the snack aisle of the grocery store staring at all of the options. She had decided that she needed to stock up both her home and her office with healthy snack options for Jane. Even before pregnancy, Jane’s diet was high in sugar and processed foods, but the presence of those unhealthy options in her diet seemed to have increased exponentially over the past few weeks.

Jane had started struggling with morning sickness on the Friday after Christmas, and Maura still felt slightly guilty for the part she played in the lack of calories Jane had eaten that day, even if she had only had Jane and the baby’s best interests in mind.

_“Oh, my god!” Maura exclaimed loudly as she walked into the lab to see Jane about to bite into a highly-processed cupcake. “Is that what you call a breakfast?”_

_“No,” Jane said. “Not without coffee.”_

_“May I please see the package?” Maura held her hand out to Jane, who handed her the wrapper for the cupcake. “Do you know what’s in here?”_

_“Yummy goodness?” Jane tried._

_“Calcium carbonate,” Maura said sternly. “Does that sound yummy? It comes from rocks. Oh! Sodium stearate,” she continued. “That’s used in soap. And do you know where you can find titanium dioxide? Right there.” She pointed to something on the lab table. “Latex paint. Do industrial chemicals sound like a good thing to be putting in your body?”_

_“Not anymore,” Jane grumbled as her cellphone buzzed. “Hey, Korsak,” she said into the phone before whispering, “Buzzkill,” to Maura. “Well, she’s right here,” Jane said, returning to her phone conversation. “Okay, we’ll be right there.”_

_“I am not a buzzkill,” Maura said, a mixture of firmness and slight offense lacing her words after Jane hung up the phone. “Nutrition’s more important now than ever. The first trimester is the most critical in terms of the development of the organs, the nervous system, the arms, the fingers, legs, toes.”_

_“I was just eating a cupcake,” Jane said, cutting off Maura’s rambling. “I didn’t mean it as a hostile act.”_

_Maura plucked the cupcake out of Jane’s hand and dropped it into the trash can._

_“But I’m hungry…” Jane whined dramatically._

_“I have healthier options in my office,” Maura said firmly, grabbing Jane’s hand and leading her out of the lab. She didn’t miss the longing look Jane gave the trash can before following her to her office._

_“I’m not just telling you this to annoy you,” Maura said. “You’re growing a…”_

_“Shhhh!” Jane quickly shushed her. “Not so loud!”_

_“Oh, I’m sorry,” Maura said quickly, looking around them. In the lab, they had been alone, but once they walked out into the hallway there were people around. Luckily, no one seemed to be paying them any attention._

_They made it to Maura’s office without any further incidents. Maura collected her medical bag and badge before opening her drawer and handing Jane a banana and a nut bar._

_Jane’s face scrunched in displeasure as she took the items from Maura. “Thank you,” she said. Jane’s words didn’t sound very sincere, but Maura still knew that deep down she appreciated it – deep deep down. Maura smiled at Jane and led her out of her office and to the car so that they could meet Korsak at the crime scene._

They didn’t even make it to the crime scene before they had to pull over so that Jane could vomit up the nut bar and banana. From that moment on, Jane hadn’t been able to keep much down, and now Maura was starting to get concerned. It had only been a couple of days, but if Jane couldn’t find something she could keep down, she was bound to start losing weight; if she lost too much, it could be dangerous for both her and the baby.

Maura had watched Jane like a hawk over the past few days as she tried to figure out what seemed appetizing to Jane and what she could keep down. Unfortunately, her findings were in opposition of everything she knew about nutrition. Maura had first suggested the BRAT diet to Jane: bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. Jane wouldn’t even touch the banana, saying the smell made her instantly nauseous, which wasn’t really a surprise since it had been one of the first things she had thrown up, even if Maura suspected that incident was caused more by the nut bar than the banana itself. She also hadn’t been able to keep down the applesauce or the rice. She hadn’t thrown up the toast but after two meals consisting entirely of dry toast, Jane flat out refused to eat any more.

Jane had discovered that she enjoyed and could eat strawberry frosted pop-tarts, which is why Maura was now standing in the snack aisle. However, after reading the ingredients on the box, Maura could not in good conscience buy pop-tarts for Jane, so she continued to stare at the options in front of her trying to determine a viable alternative.

Maura chewed on her bottom lip as she contemplated her options. Eventually, she pulled out her phone and searched for _healthy pop-tarts._ She ended up deciding to attempt to make homemade pop-tarts. That way, not only could she control the ingredients, but they would include _real_ fruit. She quickly rewrote her shopping list to include all the ingredients necessary for the pop-tarts. Now, she could only hope that Jane would like these.

Later that afternoon, Maura stood in front of the cooling pastries. They weren’t exactly a healthy snack, but they were definitely a significant improvement on the processed pop-tarts Jane was currently eating. Maura had to admit that they looked pretty good. She was currently trying to decide whether she should frost them. She had purchased the ingredients to make a simple royal icing frosting, which was essentially all sugar, but at least it was _real_ food. She was debating the trade-off between the extra sugar and the risk of Jane refusing to eat them without frosting. In the end, she decided to frost half of them. She’d offer the unfrosted first, but this way, she’d at least have the frosted ones on hand if Jane complained.

They had actually been pretty simple to make, and Maura decided that if Jane liked them, she’d make another, larger batch and freeze a bunch.

* * *

“Hey,” Jane said as she walked through the open door to Maura’s office. It was the morning of New Year’s Eve, and both Maura and Jane were only working until noon. They had both been busy with work, so Maura hadn’t been able to spend any one-on-one time with Jane since Christmas. However, they were planning to spend New Year’s Eve together, and Jane’s family would join them on New Year’s Day to spend the day watching football at Maura’s.

“Hi, Jane,” Maura greeted brightly, shutting her laptop to give her friend her full attention. “Is everything okay?” Maura asked when she finally looked up and saw the look on Jane’s face.

“Yeah….no,” Jane said, clearly unsure. Nonetheless, she closed the office door behind her.

“Want to talk about it?” Maura asked, her face scrunched in concern.

Jane sighed, dropping heavily onto Maura’s couch. “I just…” Jane started. “I feel like I finally got everything settled with Casey, you know, about our lives, our…our marriage.”

“You did,” Maura confirmed as she took a seat next Jane on the couch.

“Right,” Jane continued. “But now that I’m pregnant with his child, it just makes it so much more complicated.”

“I know,” Maura said sympathetically.

“I mean, even the way I tell him seems difficult,” Jane lamented. “Do I e-mail him or…or call or Skype? And how is he gonna react when I tell him that I intend on raising this child without him? Is he gonna be mad? Is he gonna be hurt? Is he…is he gonna fight me? Is he gonna come running back? You know?”

“It’s overwhelming,” Maura agreed. “But you don’t have to rush it. You know, you can talk to him when you’re ready.”

“Yeah,” Jane said. “Except that he contacted me…and he wants to talk…tonight.”

“Oh,” Maura said, not expecting that. “What did you say?” Maura asked, unable to help herself.

“We’re going to skype before I come over to your house tonight,” Jane said.

“It might help if you write down what you plan to say,” Maura said.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Maura started slowly, “when I have to have a difficult conversation, I make notes to myself to remind me of what I want to say. That way, I don’t forget anything if I get overwhelmed or emotional during the conversation.”

“Have you ever done that with me?” Jane asked, her eyebrow raised in amusement.

Maura felt herself blush profusely. “I plead the fifth,” she said, trying and failing to force a sense of amusement into her voice.

Jane sobered immediately at the look on Maura’s face. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” she said gently.

“That doesn’t mean some conversations aren’t emotionally difficult,” Maura said in an attempt to deflect the question. The truth was, as much as she wanted to be able to talk to Jane about anything and everything, there were some things she just couldn’t talk to her about, particularly her feelings for the other woman and her feelings about Jane’s pregnancy. When Jane reached out to squeeze her hand, Maura tried to steer the conversation back to the original topic. “My point is you can make some notes about the issues you know you want to cover. For example, you know you want to tell him you’re pregnant and he’s the father, but do you want to talk about your relationship, your decision to keep and raise the baby, his role in raising the baby?”

“Yeah, okay, I guess that makes sense,” Jane said slowly, and Maura could tell that Jane was getting lost in her thoughts.

Maura squeezed Jane’s hand that was still holding her. “No matter what happens, I’m here for you, okay, Jane?” she said.

Jane nodded before standing up suddenly. “I should get back to work,” she said distractedly, and she left without waiting for a response from Maura.

Maura sat on her couch in stunned silence at Jane’s quick departure. She sighed as she stood up and closed her office door. She needed a few minutes to herself. Jane’s nervousness about telling Casey had stirred up the feelings of jealousy in Maura that she had been trying to ignore over the past week.

Jane had said that the baby wouldn’t change her decision about her and Casey’s relationship, but they still didn’t know how Casey would react. What if he decided to leave the army, move back to Boston, and help raise the baby? Would he and Jane eventually get back together? Maura knew that she should just want what was best for Jane and the baby, and maybe that was getting back with Casey and raising their child together. Maura _did_ want what was best for Jane and the baby; the problem was that _she_ wanted to be what was best for them.

Maura buried her face in her hands. She needed to figure out how to get past this – and fast – or she was going to end up driving Jane away. She needed to focus on meeting someone; she needed to get back into dating. And maybe if she didn’t meet someone soon, she could consider having a child on her own. It was something she had considered before, but the time had never seemed right. She was going to be forty in a little over a year and a half. If she didn’t find someone to spend the rest of her life with by the time she was forty, she was going to move forward with having a child on her own. In the meantime, she was going to do everything possible to support Jane through her pregnancy.

* * *

“Hey, Maura,” Jane said as she walked into Maura’s house later that evening.

“So? How’d it go with Casey?” Maura asked, knowing that Jane had planned to talk to him before coming over.

“Fine,” Jane offered noncommittally.

“Can you be a little bit more specific than ‘fine’?” Maura asked.

“I mean, what can I tell you?” Jane asked. “It ... it ... it went fine.”

“Okay,” Maura said slowly. “How did he react when you told him you were pregnant?”

“He was surprised,” Jane said. “Um…but he understood that that’s not a reason to get married, so…”

“And what about your plans to raise a child on your own?” Maura asked.

“We’re gonna figure out his level of involvement once he’s had a chance to digest all the information,” Jane explained.

“Well, that sounds like it went better than ‘fine,’” Maura said. “I don’t know what more you could ask for.” Maura tried to sound nonchalant, but on the inside, she was thanking a god she didn’t believe in that Casey and Jane weren’t getting back together.

“Yeah,” Jane said absentmindedly. “No, you’re right. You’re right.”

“So, why aren’t you more relieved?” Maura asked.

Maura watched as Jane took a deep breath. “Because when I was finished dealing with Casey, the thought of having a baby just hit me like a freight train,” Jane admitted. “I’m...I’m scared, Maura.”

“Of course, you’re scared,” Maura said gently. “That’s how you’re supposed to feel.”

“There’s the support I was looking for,” Jane quipped.

“Jane, you’re having a baby, but you don’t have to do any of this alone,” Maura said. “I will be here every step of the way if you want me to be, and you know your family will do everything they can to support you. Being a parent is terrifying, but I know you are going to be a wonderful mother.

“Thanks,” Jane said quietly. “I…thank you for saying that.”

“I meant every word,” Maura said as she stepped into Jane’s space and pulled her into a hug. “You’re my best friend, Jane, and I love you and this baby.”

Jane wrapped her arms around Maura, returning her hug. “I love you, too,” she whispered into Maura’s hair. Maura squeezed her eyes shut as she held onto her best friend. She knew that Jane meant that she loved her as a friend but hearing her say those words while they were so close, while they were embracing, it made Maura’s heart ache.

“Are you hungry?” Maura asked as she stepped out of Jane’s embrace.

“Are you going to let me eat pop-tarts?” Jane asked hopefully.

“I made a simple baked chicken with steamed broccoli and rice for dinner,” Maura said. “Will you at least try it?”

“If I at least try it, can I have pop-tarts for dessert?” Jane negotiated.

Maura chuckled. “I’ll be able to tell if you’re just faking it,” Maura told her.

“Part of me wants to take that as a challenge,” Jane teased, “but I also haven’t eaten anything other than pop-tarts for days, so I’m willing to at least give it a try.”

“Good,” Maura said. “The table’s already set. I’m just keeping the food warm in the oven. Go sit down and I’ll bring over the food.”

“Thanks, Maur,” Jane said genuinely, and she stopped to place a soft kiss on Maura’s cheek on her way to the table. Luckily, Jane kept walking towards the table, so she didn’t see the flush that overtook Maura’s face in response to the gesture. Maura gently touched her cheek, which felt like it was on fire from Jane’s touch.

Maura served their dinner, and they sat together at the table enjoying idle chit-chat. Jane took the first few bites with gusto, but her progress slowed quickly. Soon, Jane was just pushing the food around her plate, and Maura could tell that she was struggling to force herself to keep eating. After a few more minutes, Maura took pity on her. She reached across the table and gently placed her hand on Jane’s, stopping her movements.

“Jane,” Maura said gently. “Are you okay?”

Jane looked up to meet Maura’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” Jane said, defeated, as she dropped her fork to her plate and let her hands fall to her lap. “It’s like I’m trying to eat rubber.”

“It’s okay, Jane,” Maura said. “Pregnancy changes your sense of taste and smell. You need to eat as healthily as possible, but it’s okay if you can’t eat something. It’s more important that you at least eat something.”

“I appreciate that you tried to make something I might be able to eat,” Jane said quietly.

“I will try a new recipe every single day until you give birth if that’s what you need, okay?” Maura said.

“You don’t need to do that,” Jane said.

“I want to,” Maura said. “I want to do whatever I can to help. Why don’t you go sit on the couch? I’ll bring you your pop-tarts, okay?”

“Thank you,” Jane said as she stood up.

Maura quickly cleaned up the table. She pulled the homemade pop-tarts from the fridge and place a couple on a baking sheet. She placed them in the oven to warm up while she did the dishes. Once they were ready, Maura put the pastries on a dish, but she also grabbed the box of store-bought pop-tarts.

“What smells so good?” Jane asked, turning to look at Maura as she joined her on the couch.

Maura placed the box of store-bought pop-tarts on the table and handed Jane the plate. “I found a recipe for homemade pop-tarts,” Maura explained, and Jane’s eyes flew to meet Maura’s in her surprise. “There are so many artificial ingredients in the store-bought pop-tarts you’ve been eating. If that’s all you can eat, then okay, I have some of those. These aren’t exactly healthy, but they at least have real ingredients, which means that they are a better option than the highly-processed ones.”

“You actually made pop-tarts?” Jane asked incredulously.

“Try one,” Maura prompted.

Jane took a bite of one of the frosted homemade pop-tarts. “Mmmm,” Jane moaned so loudly it was almost indecent. “Oh my god, these are fuckin’ amazing.”

Maura giggled, pleased that Jane enjoyed the pastries. Jane quickly ate both the frosted and unfrosted pop-tart that Maura had put on the plate, making noises of pleasure the entire time.

“Are there more?” Jane asked hopefully as she licked her fingers clean.

Maura laughed. “Jane, those were huge,” Maura said. “Each one was the size of two of your store pop-tarts!”

Jane gave Maura a pout that she knew her friend couldn’t deny. Maura rolled her eyes. “Fine, yes there are more, but I have to warm them up, okay?” Maura said as she stood up. “I made a whole batch, but they were pretty easy to make, so if you actually like them, I’ll make more and freeze them so that you can have them whenever you want.” Maura warmed up three pop-tarts this time, one frosted and one unfrosted for Jane and an unfrosted one for herself.

When Maura returned to the couch with the pop-tarts, she was surprised to find Jane sobbing silently.

“Oh, Jane,” Maura said quickly as she set the plates of the coffee table. “What’s wrong? Do you feel ill? I can get you a bowl in case you need to throw up. I’ll get you water, too.” Maura started to stand but Jane shook her head and pulled her back down to the couch. Jane held onto Maura for dear life as she continued to sob.

Maura wasn’t sure what was going on, but she wrapped her arms around Jane in return. She gently rubbed Jane’s back in an attempt to comfort her friend. Finally, Jane’s crying subsided.

“I don’t deserve you,” she hiccupped.

“What?” Maura said quickly in surprise. She pulled away from Jane slightly so that she could look at her.

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Jane said thickly. “You made me pop-pop-pop-tarts,” she said as she burst into tears again.

Realizing that Jane was having an emotional reaction brought on by the hormones, Maura pulled Jane back into her arms.

A few minutes later, Jane sat up again, but this time she reached for the pop-tarts. “I don’t know why I’m such a mess,” Jane said as she bit into another pop-tart. “I’m sorry, Maur.”

Maura smiled, and she reached up to brush some of Jane’s curls away from her face. “Your brain is being flooded by a cocktail of hormones that it’s not used to,” Maura explained. “Mood swings are a common symptom of pregnancy. You don’t need to apologize.”

“But these are so good,” Jane said, her voice laced with emotion.

Maura chuckled. “I’m glad you like them,” Maura said gently. “They really weren’t hard to make.” Maura watched as Jane ate all three pop-tarts. “I did bring one of those for me, though,” Maura said, laughing.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Jane said guiltily with her mouth full of pop-tart.

“It’s okay, but at this rate, I’m not sure we’ll have enough to get you through the next two days,” Maura teased.

“How many did you make?” Jane asked.

“I made 12, but I ate one yesterday to test them, so there are six left,” Maura said. “And I only made strawberry since that’s what you’ve been eating, but the recipe included instructions for other kinds, too.”

Jane pulled her legs up onto the couch and cuddled into Maura’s side. “Maybe we can make some together,” Jane suggested.

“I’d like that,” Maura replied. She pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and laid it over Jane before she wrapped her arm around Jane’s shoulders. They settled in together to watch TV. Jane was asleep with her head on Maura’s lap before 9pm, and Maura spent the rest of the evening watching documentaries on Netflix while she ran her fingers through Jane’s hair. Maybe it wasn’t the most exciting way to ring in the new year, but Maura knew there was no way she’d rather spend the evening.

Maura had been correct, and Jane had finished the rest of the pop-tarts before her brothers had even arrived for the football games the next day. They made plans to bake together on Saturday, and Jane made a (long) list of flavors she wanted to try. Maura was glad that all but one of them were fruit-based, and she planned to go shopping for the necessary ingredients while Jane was at work on Friday, since she had the day off.

Jane was sitting on the couch watching the first football game when Frankie and Tommy arrived.

“Congrats, Janie,” Frankie said, sitting down next to his sister as Maura joined them in the family room, handing Frankie a beer and Tommy a soda.

“What?” Jane said quickly and Maura could hear the agitation in her voice.

“On the baby!” Tommy added.

At that moment, Angela opened the backdoor and let herself into Maura’s house.

“Ma!” Jane yelled over her shoulder in frustration.

“What?” Angela asked innocently.

“You told Frankie and Tommy?” Jane asked angrily. “You promised not to tell anyone.”

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Angela reasoned. “Frankie and Tommy are your family.”

“Telling Frankie and Tommy _is_ telling someone,” Jane snapped.

Maura continued to watch in silence as Angela and Jane argued back and forth. Frankie and Tommy had clearly lost interest in the conversation, and their attention turned to the game on the TV.

Maura felt slightly guilty since she was the one who had told Angela about Jane’s pregnancy, but she found Angela’s reasoning about why telling Frankie and Tommy didn’t count confusing and unconvincing. She decided to stay out of it though. Luckily, everyone settled down quickly, and the argument was soon forgotten. Korsak and Frost joined them soon after, and the rest of the afternoon passed enjoyably.

Jane was the last person to leave that evening. “Thank you for everything, Maura,” Jane said as she stood at Maura’s door in her coat and boots.

“It’s nothing,” Maura said.

“It’s not,” Jane countered.

Maura smiled. “You’re coming back after work tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s movie night!” Jane said, and Maura couldn’t help but wonder how many Friday night movie nights they actually had left.

“I know,” Maura said. “Bring enough clothes to stay the weekend, okay?”

“It’s a plan!” Jane said with a smile, and with one last hug, she was out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know some readers are not in the US and/or familiar with US idioms. When used in jest, “I plead the fifth” is essentially a way to admit something without actually admitting to it. It comes from the fifth amendment, which protects individuals from self-incrimination. The defense can be and is used in the court of law, but it has also become a popular idiom in everyday conversation.


End file.
